The Martial Unity

According to the briefing that the Beggar's Sect had provided him with, the Shadow Isles were in the Sirana Gulf, surrounded by the east coast of the Derschek Region. 

Since he was approaching the Shadow Isles from the east, he would need to pass through the Derschek Region to get to the Isles. 

According to the intelligence from the Beggar's Sect, the Derschek Region was one of the most volatile war-ridden regions in its geopolitical surroundings. The reason for it was actually quite simple.

Access to incredibly cheap covert and assassination services. 

The Shadow Isles that were surrounded by the Derschek Region on three sides were filled with quality and elite covert operatives and assassins looking to gain the tutelage of the Silent Shadow. During their stay on the Shadow Isles in search of the Silent Shadow, these covert operatives and assassins made a living by doing what they did best.

Their market was predominantly that of the Derschek Region, the only region that was by far the closest to the Shadow Isles.

Consequently, the Derschek Region had an overwhelming supply of freelancer covert operatives and assassins from the Shadow Isles.

When supply exceeded demand, prices deflated. This meant that it was far easier to hire genuinely elite Martial Artist assassins in the Derschek than arguably anywhere else on the continent.

On top of that, the Derschek Region was an inherently highly divided region with many nations and settlements. This bred a lot of conflict, which was only exacerbated by the ease with which assassins could be hired.

The consequence? An unending ocean conflict fueled by endless commissioned assassinations that never allowed for any kind of peace or stability to ever be fostered. 

A maelstrom of chaos, war, and blood.

It was the ideal place for assassins. So much so that it had eventually become half the reason operators and assassins even came to the Shadow Isles, on top of searching for the Silent Shadow.

Was there a better place to hone his ability to kill a target? He could hardly think of any. 

It took him a week of nigh-continuous travel to reach the Derschek Region, overlooking the entire coast from a large mountain from afar. To the ordinary eye, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary coastline that extended for many hundreds of kilometers, bordering the Vanema Ocean.

Yet, Rui felt like he could sense the maelstrom that brewed in the Derschek Region just looking at it. 

Regardless, he persisted, keeping a low profile with his Mind Mask as he de-elevated his way to the Derschek Region. It wasn't long before he arrived at the first human settlement in the Derschek Region.

[Arabaor Town]

A town that welcomed newcomers to the Derschek Region allegedly.

Yet even before he could enter the open town, he was greeted with corpses that were uncaringly tossed and littered around the outskirts of the town. The air was saturated with the pungent odor of rotting flesh. Yet the locals were clearly unbothered by it, given that the corpses were not even buried.

It was a greeting that Rui had never experienced when entering a new place, but it didn't stop him. 

He walked in, glancing around as he took in the noisy and chaotic place. Despite the clearly high death rate, the place was as densely packed as ever. Most of the establishments were small bars, pubs, or mess halls where many people gathered.

His senses swam through the crowd as he sensed an unusually high population density of Martial Artists, mostly restricted to Martial Squires.

POW!

"Urgh!" A young boy grimaced, falling to the ground.

"Little brat -hic- thinks he's all grown up." A drunk obese man staggered over the fallen child with balled fists. 

Behind him stood two Martial Apprentices.

"You stole from me!" The boy protested.

The man grunted, racing his fist once more.

Rui's eyes narrowed as time slowed down to a crawl. With one step, he had arrived beside the man.

TAP

A simple poke to the man's chest with Reverberating Lance permeated an impact that sunk in deep before striking the heart. Unlike a Martial Body, his weak flesh was unable to offer an impedance.

Given how drunk and obese he was, a cardiac failure would be written off as a result of poor health. Rui did need to hold back immensely to make sure that he didn't flatten the man's heart by applying just a little iota of more effort than he should have.

STEP

The next moment, he was already a hundred meters on the other side.

"Hngh!" The man clutched his chest with a pained expression, staggering a bit before falling down. The Martial Apprentices reacted with shock, rushing over to his side.

Yet what Rui paid attention to was not the man himself, but the reaction of the crowd.

Nobody even noticed.

The few that did immediately went about their day, as if they just spotted a leaf falling or any other mundane event that did not warrant their attention.

A complete and total apathy and indifference to death.

It reminded him of the Derimont Bazaar. However, the Derimont Bazaar was an artificial creation of the Beggar's Sect of the darkest parts of humanity. The Ajaor Town was merely the beginning  of the Derschek Region, it was the welcoming mat of the entire region.

What was the rest of the region like?

He shook his head. 

He wasn't interested in the rest of the region, he was here for the Shadow Isles, and more specifically, the Silent Shadow. Everything else didn't matter. He maintained a tight Mind Mask while traversing the macabre town, minding his own business.

Yet suddenly.

WHOOSH!

Rui calmly dodged a blade lunging towards him from behind. A passerby had randomly attacked Rui with a Squire-level attack when they crossed each other. 

CLASP! THWACK!

Rui swiftly caught the man's arm, disarming him before throwing him to the ground and putting his foot on the back of his head.

"Urgh!" The man grimaced. 

"Talking will make this less painful." Rui coldly informed him. "If you're honest, I just might let you li-!"

His eyes widened in surprise as the man's eyes had already rolled backward, his mouth had already begun foaming as he choked. Rui just watched with shock as the man ingested poison, dying right there on the spot.

It took his mind just a moment to swiftly infer and deduce everything about him that Rui needed to.

'He was not a thug looking to steal from a dead corpse.' Rui's eyes narrowed sharply. 'He's an assassin. An extremely professional one based on how quickly and unhesitatingly killed himself.'

There was only one conclusion to be inferred.

'Someone has already put out a hit on me?'